The FCC is weighing a rule that would force carriers to collect a government ID before activating any SIM. Stated goal: stop robocalls. Actual effect, critics say: a national phone registry.

Worth sitting with a simple question — if every phone must be tied to a verified identity, what happens to the people who depend on not being identified? Journalists. Abuse survivors. Whistleblowers.

Privacy isn't the absence of crime. It's the absence of a permanent record.